Toilet-paper holder



May 13, 1924. 1,494,115

J. B; ISHAM TOILET PAPERHOLDER Filed Aug. 10, 1922 2 J7 ""2 z; 4 F1114- ATTORNEY.

Patented May 13, 1924.

UITED STATES JOHN B. ISI-IAM, or HAMPDEN, massaonusnrrs.

TOILET-PAPER HOLDER.

Application filed. August 1 0 1922. Serial No. 580,842.

T all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JonN B. ISHAM, a citizen of the United States of America, and a residentof l'iampden, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts. have invented a new and useful Toilet-Pa per Holder, of whiclrt-he following is a specification. Y 1

My invention relates to improvements in devices or appliances for holding pluralities of sheets of paper for dispensing or feeding purposes, and consists generally of a suitable backing or support provided with fixed holding means for the paper behind and with movable holding means for the paper in front, together with feeding means for the paper, which feeding means is preferably carried by said movable holdingv means, and such other parts and members as may be necessary or desirable in order to render the appliance complete in every respect, all as hereinafter set forth.

Although this appliance is especially designed "for holding toilet paper to be dis pensed, or for both holdingand dispensing the same. it may be used in connection with other materials, such for eXa-mplens paper towels.

The holder which forms the subject of this application is in the nature of an improvement of the toilet-paper holder covered by United States Letters Patent, No. 1.411029, issued to me March 28, 1922.

It has heretofore been customary to form flat toilet paper into packages with a predetermined number of sheets in each package, and ofrunning wires through the sheets in such packages, and bending the protruding terminals or" such wires, for the purpose of securing the sheets and maintaining the package formations. and the primary object of my invention is to obviate the necessity of producing such packages and incorporating such wires there with. wherefore a large saving in expense is effected. and the handling, packing, and

- shipping or toilet paper greatlyfacilitated.

Paper formed into packages the sheets of which are bound together with. wire are quite difiicult to pack for shipment. With this holder are used quantities or packages of unbound sheets of paper thethiclmesses of which packages may vary, that is to say, the thicknesses ofthe packages as originally placed inthe holder, consequently paper for said holder is stacked and packed,

without wire or other binder, in as thick or even tall or long original or supply packages as can be conveniently handled. and from a package of this character lesser packages are taken and'placed in the holder as required, until the supply packageis ex: hausted.

A further object is to produce'a comparatively simple and inexpensive holder, of the character described above, with which a quantity or package offlat sheets of pa per can be readily connected, and from which such sheets can be easily, quickly, and conveniently fed one at a time.- e l The holder is compact, andcan besu'spended'from a mailer screw, just as the ordinary package of toilet paper is suspended by means of the looped terminal of the binder wire.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the course of the following description.

I attainthe objects and secure the advantages of my inventionby the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of an appli ance which embodiesa practical form of my invention, a quantity of toilet paper being held in place by the paper-engaging members of said appliance with portions of the paper package in section so as clearly to show the manner in which said members engage and penetrate the same; Fig. 2, a

front elevationof saidappliance; Fig. 3. a

iii.

side elevation of a modified form of the I holder, with a portion of thepackage of paper in the grasp thereof in section; Fig. 4, a side elevation of still another modified form of construction, the package of paper here again being in partial section, and, Fig. 5, a detail, on a reduced scale, illustrating engaging means for the package of paper zit-the back; which means differs from corresponding holding means in the other examples. I i

I Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views.

. In the/drawings a quantity of flat sheets of paper, which constitute a package 1, is shown in place inthe holder. Suchpackage is without any bindingwiraand just as it" is removed from a large or supply package of unbound sheets of paper. The package 1 when first placed inthe holder may-be of any thickness within the capacity of the holder to receive the same, on theone port 13.

hand, and of any less thickness, on the other hand. i

In every case the holder includes a support or backing 2. This backing is usually portable, and may have an opening 8 there-' in adjacent to the upper edge and in the vertical center thereof to receive a screw or nail for the support of said backing and parts and members carried thereby. But it is conceivable that the backing might be a fixed member to which the otherelemcnts of the holder are-attached or with which they areconnected or associated. in which event, however, such support becomes a part of the holder just the same.

Each holder also includes, preferably, a hanger 4,anda.feed'er 5 which is provided on the backside with a piece of sandpaper, as 6, or other abrasive material. The. hanger 4 and the feeder 5 are very similar to corresponding elements in the patent hereinbefore referred to, except that in the present case the hanger 4 is a single member which passes through the vertical center of the feeder 5. The feeder 5 is free to be moved up and down on the hanger 4. The hanger 4 in the first two constructions has at the top a loop 7, and in every case at the bottom a loop 8. The loop 8 prevents the feeder 5 from' becoming detached from the hanger 4.

Referring now to the holder illustrated in the first two views, it will be observed that a frame 9 therein appears, which frame is made of heavy wire bent into-substantially the shape shown, and secured to the front side of the backing 2, adjacent to the upper edge of said backing. by means of a plurality of staples 10. One terminal 11. of the wire of the frame 9 extends clownwardly and then forwardly and sharpened to form a spur or prong 12. The prong 12 is located approximately in the vertical, central plane of the backing 2. The other terminal 13 of the wire of the frame 9 extends directly forward in the aforesaid plane but above the prong 12. The terminal 13 forms a horizontal support for a sliding clamp 14. The aforesaid terminals of the frame 9 diverge from the portions of said frame that are between the lower staples 10. The clamp 14 has" therein a slot 15 to receive the loop 7 of the hanger 4, and is provided with a spur or prong 16. and there is a spring17 arranged to urge said cla-mp'toward the backing 2. The front end of theqterminal or support 13' is notched to form a finger 18. The finger 18 extends forwardly from the underside'of the sup- The clamp 14 has a pair of sleeves 19'at 'the top to receive and slideon the support 13. The spring 17 has" its ends connected at -41'41with' the ends ofwthe: frame 9, and'is intermediately connected with the clamp 14 by means of a link 20, said clamp being provided with an upwardly-extending finger 21, behind the rear sleeve 19, to rovide an attaching member for said link. Thus it is seen that the spring 17 has a constant tendency to urge the clamp 14 toward the. backing 2 or rearwardly. If the clamp 14 be drawn forwardly. against the resiliency of the spring 17, far enough to enable the rear edge of the front sleeve 19 at the top to ride off of the support 13 at the top and drop down onto the finger 18, said clamp is held by reason of such engagement in its most advanced position,

then, upon forcing upwardly the front end of the clamp, until the axis of said sleeve is brought into line with the axis of said support, the clamp is released, and said spring immediately acts to actuate the clamp rearwardly.

The prong 16 extends rearwardly from the clamp '14 at the bottom, is located at a lower level than that of the prong 12, and is longer than the latter. The hanger 4 is supported by the clamp 14 near the prong 16, and a considerable amount of freedom is permitted to said hanger. so that the feeder 5 can be used to the best advantage in connection with the paper in the package 1'. The slot 15 affords the necessary amount of freedom for the hanger 4, and

such slot is inclined forwardly and upwardly from its rear end in order to cause the hanger 4 and the feeder 5 to gravitate toward the package 1.

To place a quantity of paper. as the package 1. in the holder, it is simply necessary to draw forward the clamp 14, insert the upper portion of the package between'the prongs 12 and 16, and release said clamp, when the spring actuates the clamp into forcible engagement with the paper. 0 rather, causes the prong 16 to penetrate the paper and force the package against the prong 12 until the latter also penetrates the paper. The lock for the clamp, provided at the front end of the support 13, may or may not be utilized at the time the paper is placed in position in the holder. The prongs 12 and 16 need not, and in practice do not. penetrate the package 1 to the extent shown in Fig. 1. The feeder 5 now hangs in front of and in contact withthe foremost sheet of paper in readiness to dispense the same.

In removing the paper from the package 1 a sheet at a time. the feeder 5 is grasped and elevated on the hanger 4, said hanger meanwhile being swung outwardly from the paper. and then said feeder is pushed back into contact with the paper and pressed or carried down to the bottom of said hangen with the result that the foremost sheet is carried downwardly with the feeder, when it is left suspended between the sheet behind and the feeder in front. The lower portion of the foremost sheet now extends below the bottom of the remaining sheets of the package 1. and even below the bottom of the backing 2, and can. therefore, be readily grasped with the thumb and tin-- ger and drawn from between said feeder and the sheets behind said foremost sheet. When the foremost sheet moved down as the result of the contact therewith and movement of the feeder 5, said sheet is torn away from the prong 16, and also from the prong 12 in the event said sheet be one of the last few left in the package, and be pierced by said prong. As the final act, the partially separated sheet is drawn with the hand downwardly clear of both package and feeder. The operation of ren'ioving the sheet from the package is repeated until the package has become exhausted. by reason of the fact that all of the sheets have been dis pensed.

As the package becomes thinner by the removal of the sheets of paper therefrom, the clamp 5 is drawn back progressively by the spring 17, until said clamp encounters the wire terminal 11 above the prong 12, when further backward movement of the clamp ceases. At this time the prong 16 may penetrate some of the last few sheets in the package. The prong 16 does not, however, come into contact with the backing 2. The prongs 12 and 16 being in ofiset relationship vertically clear each other, when the clamp 11 approaches more closely to the backing 2, and the prong 12 being shorter than the prong 16 is not contacted with by the rear end of the clamp 14:, especially if such end he recessed, as it is in this case, to accommodate the point of said prong 12. It follows, therefore, that the sheets of paper in the package 1 are supported by one or both prongs until the Very last sheetis removed. Although the prongs 12 and 16 only penetrate respectively a few of the rearmost and foremost sheets of paper in the package, up to the time said package becomes quite thin, the spring 17 exerts a sufficient force on the clamp 14 to cause the sheets intervening between those that are actually penetrated by said prongs to be held by frictional engagement against displacement.

\Vhen all of the sheets have been removed, the clamp 14 is drawn forwardly again, a fresh package is placed in position, and such clamp is once more released to engage such package, all in a similar manner as before. In the modification shown in Fig. 3, the frame 9 is omitted, and in place thereof there is a horizontal support 22 which is directly secured at the rear end of the backing 2, and a prong 23 that is also directly secured to said backing. A wooden clamp 24 may be used in this case, although the clamp 14 might also be used. The clamp 24 is provided with a. pair of screw-eyes 25 to slide on the support 22, and is further provided at the rear end with a prong 26. A spring 27 has each end attached, as at 28, to the backing 2, and is intermediately connected, by means of a wire 29, with the front screw-eye 25. The loop 7 of the hanger at is connected with the clamp as by means of a lug 30 on the bottom of said clamp. The portion of the lug 30 which directly supports the loop 7 inclines rearwardly and downwardly for the same reason that the slot 15 in the clamp 14: has a similar inclination. The support 22 may be provided'with the finger 18 as in the first example.

The function and operation of theFig. 3 construction is substantially the same as those already described in connection with the holder illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The prong 26 is longer than the prong 23, and the latter is located below the horizontal plane of the bottom of the clamp 24, wherefore the prong 26 may penetrate the last few sheets of paper and come into contact with the backing 2, the point of said lastnamed prong having meanwhile passed above the prong 23. Either the prong 23 is not of sufficient length to be contacted with by the rear end of the lug 30, when the clamp 24 arrives at the extreme rear end of its travel, or else said prong and said terminals are in offset relationship.

In Fig. 4 is illustrated a holder wherein the force for the clamp is obtained by spring compression instead of spring expansion. Here there is a horizontalsupport 31 similar to the support 22 except that the forward terminal of the former is bent over or looped, as represented at 32, to form a stop or abutment for the front terminal of a spring 33 which encircles said support. At the rear terminal of the spring 33 is a washer 3t, the same being split at 35 to provide means for clamping said washer to said spring. The rearmost coil of the spring 33 is extended downwardly, as at 36, and then bent rearwardly and formed into a prong 37. The spring 33 and washer 3tare centered on the support 31/by means of a spool 38 mounted on said support within said spring, said spool being considerably shorter than the spring when expanded. Here the hanger 4 has a horizontal loop 39, instead of a vertical loop as 7, and the upper part of said loop is loosely received in a suitable opening in the washer 34. There is here a prong 23 set in the backing 2, such prong being shorter than and below the horizontal plane of the prong 37.

The washer 34, together with the engaging portion of the spring 38, including the prong 37, constitutes the clamp in the Fig. 4 construction, and said construction functions and is operated in a very similar manner to either of the other constructions, except that the movable clamping members, when drawn forwardly to permit the fresh package of paper to be placed in position, compress the spring instead of expanding it.

In lieu of the rear, stationary prong (12 or 23), the backing 2 may be provided with abrasive material or a piece of sandpaper, as 40 in Fig. 5, the same being properly located relative to the movable prong (16, 26, or 37) in front.

More or less change in the shape, size, construction, and arrangement of some or all ofthe parts of my toilet-paper holder, in addition to those hereinbefore specifically pointed out, may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or exceeding the scope of what is claimed What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As an improved article of manufacture, a holder of the class described comprising a clamp, including a fixed jaw and a springpressed movable jaw adapted to slide to and from said fixed jaw, to support a package of sheets of paper, and swinging and reciprocating means, carried by said springpressed movable jaw, for removing such sheets one at a time from said package.

2. The combination, in a'holder of the class described and a bent wire frame having a backing, a forwardly extending terminal support, and a downwardlyextending terminal prong-provided member for the back side of a package of sheets of paper, a member slidingly mounted on said support, and provided with engaging means for the front side of said package, and resilient means to actuate said sliding member toward said backing.

3. The combination, in a holder of the class described, a backing provided with a forwardly-extending support notched at the front end and with engaging means for the back side of a package of sheets of paper, a member slidingly mounted on and dependent from said support, and provided with engaging means for the front side of said package, and resilient means to actuate said sliding member toward said backing, said sliding member, when actuated against said resilient means into a forward position, being adapted for engagement with said notched end of said support and thereby held in such position.

4. The combination, in a holder of the class described, a backing provided with a support, and with engaging means for the forwardly-extending support, a clamp slidingly mounted on and depending from said support, and provided with a prong to engage the front side of said package at a point adjacent to that where said first-named named prong engages said package at the back, a spring connected with said clamp and adapted to actuate the latter toward said backing, a hanger suspended from said clamp and adapted to gravitate toward said package and a feeder slidingly arranged on said hanger.

6. The combination, in a holder ofthe class described, a backing, and a frame attached to said backing, and provided with a forwardly-extending support, and with a prong adapted to engage the back side of a package of sheets of paper, a clamp mounted to slide on said support, and provided with a prong adapted to engage the front side of such package, said clamp having-a rearwardlyand downwardly-inclined supporting part, a spring connected with said clamp and adapted to actuate the latter to ward said backing, a hanger suspended from said inclined supporting part, and a feeder slidingly arranged on said hanger.

7. The combination, in a holder of the class described, a backing provided with a forwardly-extending support, and with engaging means for the back side of a package of sheets of paper, a spring-pressed member slidingly arranged on said support, and provided with means to engage the front side of said package, and with rearwardlyand downwardly-incli.ned supporting means, a hanger suspended from said supporting means, and a feeder slidingly arranged on said hanger.

JOHN B. ISHA'M.

Witnesses:

F. A. CUTTER, R. E. ALLBEE. 

